That had been the start of a beautiful relationship, we both get fed and we both get a nice experience out of the deal. I had been 278 on that day, now I was 998. Seven hundred twenty years I've been with the Wraith and only two other hibernation have occurred in that time. Presently were in the middle of "the waking era" as I call it and every two weeks I feed from him and vice versa.
My Wraith has duties to preform and I would probably go crazy from being alone all the time (the other Wraith just aren't like mine), but thankfully there are some humans who are called Wraith Worshipers whom are granted the gift of life (immortality) for their devotion. They know that I am not human and somehow very special to the Wraith but not that I'm immortal by species.
My favorite Worshiper is a young female name Min, she doesn't care what I do or did to please the Wraith and she is very kind. Her black hair goes to her shoulders and her bright green eyes are almost a window to her soul sometimes. She is not only my favorite, the Queen I hear enjoys her company as well and rewards her by allowing her quarters of her own and not with the others.
Right now I find myself walking to her quarters, Masks pass by every now and then but everyone else seems to be rather busy, I haven't seen my Wraith in three days. It isn't abnormal but it can get kinda deserted in our room. Min's husband was kind enough to made me a gorgeous bed so that I didn't have to sleep in the corner or wait for days before my Wraith joined me.
Turning a corner I see my destination and walk forward. After all this time it was not rude of me to simply enter without announcing myself. I find Min and her husband, Seft, talking quietly to each other. Min lifts her head at my entrance with a familiar glint in her eyes that she always gets when I arrive.
" Hello, Min. Seft. How are you doing today?"
Min smiled at me, " We are doing wonderful, thank you for asking." it was my typical greeting but Min always welcomed me like it had been years instead of hours. This time though, I sensed something else behind her happiness.
" Is there anything going on?"
Min glanced at Seft before turning back to me, " We don't know how you do that, but yes, we have just discovered some lovely news. I am with child."
" Your pregnant! Congratulations!" I was very happy for them, if there was ever a deserving couple of humans it would be them. They would be wonderful parents. Whenever a Worshiper had a baby I always felt jealous, like someone stole something from me. I looked eighteen but after all this time one of the things that I ached for was a child to call my own.
Min seemed to notice my sudden change and her face crumpled, I looked away before I could see anymore. I abruptly waned to leave and run to the other end of the hive to get as far away from the happy couple. I took a deep breathe before looking back a Min, my heart almost broke at the crushed expression of her pretty little face. Almost.
" Um, I'm so sorry but I just remembered something that I have to go and do," I stood while I spoke, " Min, Seft, I really am very happy for you and I know that you'll be amazing parents. Bye."
I hurried to escape the quarters and ran down the corridors until I stopped inside my room. The door closed behind me and I released all my bottled up emotions. My talons lengthened and a string of hisses and growls ripped from my throat, my body quaked with pent up resentment. Tears started to spill down my cheeks and my legs gave out under me. A very small part of my mind was worried whether or not this was healthy behavior for a vampire as the floor spun up to meet me.
I think the worst part is that I know I will never get the opportunity either. Sure, over the centuries, I have grown to... love, my Wraith. But he is still a Wraith, and I can't even imagine falling for a human enough to have anything with them. So, in layman's terms, I was totally screwed.
Slowly, my growling and hissing turned into panting while my tears dried up because I ran out of them (not because I wanted them to). My shoulders shook with each pant that I pushed from my lungs, my talons retracted as I spun further and further into the deep abyss that was my miserable depression.
At some point, I slipped into an troubled, uncomfortable sleep that I could make myself wake up from. My dreams revolved around Min and Seft with a laughing baby girl who looked so much like her mother. They were so happy, even in the dream, and there was nothing that would do to jeopardize that but I greatly wanted to take that happiness.
So involved was I my dream, that I didn't hear my door open or the quiet voice of Min. I was only vaguely aware of something warm touching my hand and cheek. The skin of my right cheek felt like it was suddenly afire and the sound of skin against skin filled my ears. I opened my eyes and sat like a bolt, Min sits back on her hunches and she was rubbing her right hand. She slapped me! I hissed at her before jumping to my feet and making for the door.
" Wait! Please, tell me what is wrong." in my unstable state I whirled around to face her (if I was in my right mind I would have just kept going).
"What? You want to know what my problem is? Is that it? Think, Min! My problem is that thing growing inside you!" I yelled at her.
" My baby? Why?" she was only trying to understand but to me she sounded like the most stupid human in the universe.
" Because you get to have a sweet little baby and I'm stuck with... with... nothing." my vision blurred for a second from the threatening tears.
" You would not have nothing. What about that Wraith that you are always with?"
" My Wraith has other, more important duties to attend to then me."
" I do not believe that, he looks at you like no other Wraith I've seen before. Maybe all you have to do is ask."
Why would I ask him to stop everything just to satisfy my loneliness? Why, Min? I've been on this hive for hundreds of years and I've never asked anything of him or anyone else, why would I start now? I screamed this at her and I saw her wince with the mental force.
Fear showed in her eyes, " I don't know, I don't know. Just please don't do that again, please."
At that plea, the human part of me partially found sense and I realized that for a split millisecond that I actually thought of hurting her some more. I'm a monster.
Spinning around I race out into the corridor and I just keep running. I don't care where I end up just as long as it is far away from Min and her little one. I stop and jump from the corridor to a little nook far above the dart bay. I perch myself on the rim overlooking the bay and pull my knees snugly to my chest before letting my head droop. I hope that all I need is a little time to cool off and than I'll be back to my... normal, self.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was fast asleep again though I was pleased that I didn't dream this time. No one knew about my little private niche, not even my Wraith knew that I came here.
Over the many years my internal clock has improved to the point that I know what time it is even when I'm unconscious, so when it reached the point that I had slept for six and a half hours I forced myself to wake up. Looking out I see the darts lined up, ready for when the time comes. Wondering if enough time has passed I swing out back into the corridor and calmly walk back to my room. I walked in and closed the door before I registered that there was someone inside, turning around I see my Wraith standing in the same corner that I used to slid down.
I resisted the urge to jump in shock, or cringe at the image he was showing me. Min, running into his laboratory with delicate tears running down her face. She wasn't coherent as she tried to explain what had happened six hours ago, but he hadn't needed much explanation when she showed him five gagged bleeding gashes that went from her elbow to just above her wrist.
Strange, I don't remember clawing her, I don't even remember having my talons extended.
Next he showed me Min taking him here and saying that she didn't know where I went. He sent her back to her quarters and stationed himself were I found him.
I heard the unspoken question in his mind, he was wondering what had caused me to hurt Min. My gaze lowered to the floor as I felt shame well up inside me.
" Nothing, I just... I was taken by surprise and I probably could have handled it better."
" What surprised you?"
" Um, well, Min. Um, I just over reacted. Actually, I think that right now I would like to be alone, if you don't mind."
I felt the defiance surge through his mind and knew that I wasn't going to get to be alone. I threw up my hands in defeat, " Fine, do whatever you want! See what I care!"
With that I turned to my bed and buried my face into the pillow. I heard his heart (kinda weird that I didn't hear his footsteps) come nearer.
" If you know what is best, you will just stay in your little corner." my voice was muffled because of the pillow but my threat didn't lose it's strength. His heart sped up for a split second before returning a normal palpitation. He didn't touch me as he stopped above and watched. He was curious and worried about me. Not an uncommon mixture when it came to me. I almost smiled, almost.
Then a thought came to me at the word 'mixture'. Blood has DNA, DNA has genetic material, children have to have genetic material from both parents. Why not just take a sample of blood and use the DNA? My fangs lengthened at the idea and I rolled over to stare up at my Wraith. Why not? Good a candidate as anyone, maybe better. I smiled up at him and his confusion deepened. It's about to get worse.
Before he could stop me, I reached out and grazed my fang along his left hand (it was the closest). The drop of blood that I got from the tiny wound would be more than enough I thought as I swallowed. I saw him flinch as he registered what I had done and I watched as the tiny scratch healed with not help from me.
I raised my eyes to his. His expression didn't change until he noticed something different in my demeanor. I seemed more... hopeful, to him. Ya, the promise of a child to call one's own will do that.
" Why did you do that?" he was trying very hard to understand me. I wish you the best of luck.
I smiled, " Did you know that Min is going to have a child?" he didn't see it yet but I had just answered his question.
" No. What does this have to do with everything?"
I smiled wider, " Just that, everything."
Irritation clouded his thoughts, if I didn't start answering coherently he was going to try to seriously hurt me. I grinned up at him as I did my best not be all to sarcastic.
" Let me explain something to you. One of a humans purposes is to populate the species. Now, being a vampire that isn't a big concern to us as we don't die.. easily. Here is the thing though. As far as I know, I'm the only vampire in this entire galaxy. I guess that as the centuries pasted, I felt like I didn't belong. So, when Min announced that she was going to have a child I suppose that I just snapped. I'm better now." I chuckled at my last sentence, it was so not an good enough description.
" Your better now? How? What did you do?" he considered my nicking him with my fangs and narrowed his lovely eyes at me.
I shrugged, " Oh, nothing."
" What did you do?"
" I... kinda... took a drop of your blood so that I could fix my problem."
He sighed, " Your problem?"
" Do I have to spell it out for you? I. Used. Your. Blood. To. Impregnate. Myself." I smirked at as I said the words.
He didn't react physically and his mind was just a big blank for a few minutes. Then he looked at me and his eyes moved to rest on my abdomen as shock became his greatest emotion.
Suddenly enjoying myself considerably I finish with, " Congratulations, your going to be a father." I burst into laughter as I rolled back onto the bed.
I left my Wraith standing in my room starring after me in shock, I was flying as high as the clouds as I walked toward Min's quarters. I had some apologizing to do.
I announce myself and just walked in. Min was sitting in one of her beautiful chair while Seft held her hands and tried to talk to her.
" Min?" I said her name softly but she still jumped. Seft leaped to his feet and positioned himself so that he stood in front of her in a protective stance. I winced internally because I know that to them, it seems necessary.
" You! Get out! How dare you come back after what you did to, Min!" I was surprised, Seft had always been the quiet type who never yelled.
" Min, please let me explain. I am so sorry about what I did an I don't even have a good excuse for it either." I waited and she slowly nodded. " You see, when you told me about the baby, I felt envious that you would become a mother before me. I've watch so many humans over the years give birth to little miracles I don't know why yours did it. But I snapped."
" You've watch so many? How old are you?" Min was whispering but her voice was still strong.
" I'm 998 years old, Min. I was here when you became a Worshiper sixty years ago. Anyway, I am deeply sorry about hurting you, Min. I don't even remember much of what I did during my... episode. I truly hope that you can forgive me someday."
Min reached forward and grabbed Seft's hand so that she could gently pull him back, he being the big softy that he is let her. She looked me in the eye and she apparently saw something that she liked, possibly my sudden happiness.
" How did you solve your problem?" I barely remember her coming into my room and talking to me, about what is just a big blank, but I felt a sense of recognition at her question.
I smiled at her warmly, " Oh, you know, this and that."
Her lips twitched even though the phrase meant nothing to her, " Please, tell me."
" Let's just saw that your not going to be the only one who gets what she wants."
" Are you with child now, too?" my smile widened in response.
Min forgave quickly, which gave Seft no reason to hold a grudge against me when his Min didn't, and we talked for the rest of day about what we were going to do when out babies finally came. She was four months in and I gave her a gift that people in this galaxy don't usually get, I told her what she was going to have. A little girl, just like in my dream (kinda strange that I remember the dream but not my waking moments).
I left soon after that announcement and headed back to my room, wondering if my Wraith was still standing were I left him. When I walk inside I don't see him and a overwhelming feeling of regret floods me. I should have asked before hand. What if he avoids me from now on? Could I bare that? I doubted it very much.
In the five months that it took Min's baby to finish growing, my baby grew nine months worth. I was heavy with pregnancy now but my vampire endurance had not faltered. My Wraith had arrived only two hours after I did and he hasn't left my side yet. I didn't doubt it but he was worried about feeding on my while I was pregnant, nothing happened just like I thought.
Min gave birth before me to the tiniest baby I had ever seen, and boy did she have a set of lungs. I didn't start having severe labor pains until twenty hours after. I hadn't known that something could hurt that much. The funny thing is that it was the one time my Wraith had left me and I start having contractions. I was surprised that only fifteen minutes later I had a baby boy in my arms. Sometimes it pays to be a vampire.
He is the most perfect thing that I have ever seen. His head is covered in hair of unique color, a mixture of natural red and Wraith white. When his eyes opened I was amazed to see my green eyes starring at me, but I was surprised to see those strange cat-like pupils as well. Somehow, everything about him seemed... right. I loved my little baby, he was one of a kind. Literally a Wraith-Vampire.
And I will call him... Alexander.
TBC